Friends Don't Quit
by Blackmoondragon1415
Summary: Where did Dragon go during Dragonophobia? My take on what happened. One-shot. Please R&R.


Hello again. This one's gone through several long months on my hard drive before I actually thought it was finished. I don't own Jane and the Dragon, or any of it's characters. Enjoy.

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Friends Don't Quit

Dragon soared gently through the air, all the while with a lightly whimpering Jane clutching his horns in a frightened panic. It had taken a lot of coaxing just to get her to fly with him. She was afraid of him, really afraid of him. He shook himself out of the depressing thoughts and focused on the task at hand. If flying didn't bring her memories back, nothing would. Jane gave an especially loud yelp as he turned a little in the air.

Okay, just flying wasn't working wonders. Now Dragon decided to intervene before she could start shrieking her head off.

"Jane?" He asked back, almost tentatively, but then remembered the 'assignment' they had been called out on. Urgent, think urgent.

"Yes?" came her choked answer.

"Have you got your eyes closed?" He called, pretending to chastise her.

"Yes." She said again. That could be a reason why she wasn't getting her memory back. Maybe if he could persuade her to open her eyes, even for a few minutes?

"Then how will you spot the army?"

"You can spot them, or are your eyes closed as well?" Jane retaliated, then burst out "Tell me your eyes are not closed!"

"No." Dragon said, slightly put out. This might be a lot harder than he thought.

"No you are not going to tell me, or no they are not closed?" Jane asked, causing Dragon to wince for a second. Didn't she trust him at all?

She apparently had opened her eyes by then, for the next second Dragon heard a light bleat of fresh fear.

"That is a lot of nothing between us and the ground." Jane said, more to herself than Dragon, but he released a sigh of relief. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

"No one flies higher than you or me, Jane. No one!" Dragon replied, hopefully to make her feel a little more comfortable.

"I am flying." Jane said in awe as she viewed the countryside below. Dragon cracked a light grin. Maybe he had finally gotten through!

"Yes! You and me, the old team, back in the sky again, eh?" Dragon jested, thinking that, for just a moment, his best friend was back. He let out a light whoop as he descended into a light dive.

"Alright, easy does it." Jane said, a little more relaxed and at ease, but still wanting to finish this as soon as possible. "From which direction did you see the attackers coming?"

Dragon jumped at this. He really hadn't planned this out very well, as he was now starting to see the multiple potholes that came with this idea. "What? Oh, um, from the west."

"Uh, from the west. Right. " Jane repeated, looking out in said direction. Dragon inwardly grimaced. She wasn't going to see any invading army, and when she didn't …

He shuddered, no, no don't think about that. Try thinking about what you're going to say when she realizes that you've been lying and tricking her into this flight. He didn't have very much on planning time, however. One second later…

"I do not see anything. How big was this army?" Jane questioned, a suspicious note creeping into her voice.

"Big enough to get us back together?" Dragon answered hopefully, then cringed as he felt Jane's body tense up once more. He could practically feel her eyes, hardened with suspicion, boring into him deeper than any sword or lance. Then came the ill-begotten words.

"Set us down now. Right now." Jane had seen through the whole plan, and now there was an edge in her voice that was as hard and cold as stone.

"But-"

"Now!"

A few moments later, they were down on the ground, ironically in the same clearing that they had been the day before when looking for the Prince's toy. If only the circumstances could be as cheerful.

"There never was an invading army, was there?" Jane bluntly asked as Dragon, head hung in dejection, tried very hard not to aggravate her anymore than she already was.

"W-Well, never is a long time…there might be…one day…" Dragon weakly trailed off, knowing full well that this so-called excuse wasn't going to cut it.

"You tricked me!"

That hurt. His mind went back to a time, a few months earlier, when Jane had told him about the tooth fairy. When he had found out that his supposed 'trinket' wasn't what it appeared to be, especially after Jane had given him her word that the tooth fairy existed, he had stormed off and stayed up in his cave no matter how many times she said she was sorry. It had taken a silver crown that Jane had persuaded Smithy to rout and bring up to his cave to trust her fully again. She had just been trying to make him happy and keep their friendship alive. The overall situation wasn't that much different, except now he was the one that had been playing false. He knew that she would not accept excuses, and he would not give any anymore. Time to be honest. It was his last chance.

"I did it for you. For us. We're a team, Jane." He said in a softer tone, hoping that she would remember him now. Remember, and stop treating him like an outsider, like a reject. So they could be friends again.

_Remember, please. I know it's in there. Just remember._ He longed to say that, but he couldn't help but think he had done enough damage, and kept these words on his tongue.

But nothing seemed to change in the irate girl's gaze; she backed up until she was against the rocks. Dragon could see his chance, along with their friendship, slipping away.

"You all lie to me and now you kidnap me! What do you want?!" She snapped back, no longer in a debating or prying mood. She wanted an answer and she wanted it now.

"I want you to stop being afraid of me."He answered forlornly, looking at Jane, eyes pleading with her to understand…but wound up being shocked and completely heartbroken by her next words.

"I am not afraid of you. I hate you!"

Dragon thought he heard his heart snap cleanly in two. He struggled to contain a few tears that had welled up, and feebly pushed for their friendship one last time.

"I just want you to be happy…" Couldn't she see that, even though she had lost her memory? What would it take to make her understand that he was only trying to be what he had been for about a year? Her friend. That was all he was, and nothing more.

"Then leave me alone! Leave right now and never come back!" His once-friend shrieked at him, crossing her arms and turning away, showing that he had struck out, and there were no more second chances. He desperately wanted to believe that this was all some cruel joke, or at least a nightmare.

But there was no reprieve or waking up from this twisted nightmare, and no joke that his eyes could see, although he frantically looked for one. He had told himself, many times, that he would do what it took to make Jane happy. If he leaving was what it took, then that was what he had to do.

With a heavy and broken heart, and a torn and mangled friendship, he managed to utter in a voice heavy with sadness "As you wish."

He turned lightly off to the side, gazing forsakenly down at the ground as he prepared to take off.

But there was still a few words caught in the back of his throat, a few words that he never thought he'd have to say with this kind of finality.

"Goodbye Jane."

Then Dragon, lonely, dejected, and clutching a shattered friendship in his own shattered heart, took off for the air, looking down at Jane, who seemed oblivious to the enormous amount of hurt in the reptile's face, and the overall hesitance in his movements, as he waited for her to call him back, to repair that which was torn from them.

But she didn't call, or restore their thrice-crushed friendship, and Dragon flew further and further away, his spirits and heart sinking faster than a boulder to the bottom of the ocean.

He had flown miles away from the clearing before he had realized where he was. A field/forest that was practically across the kingdom. He landed near a grove of trees, and huddled up in the shade to the point where any passing person or animal would have mistaken him for a part of the greenery.

If only his hurt could have faded away that easily.

Dragon remembered when he had no friends, before he had even met Jane. During most of that time, he was alone and traveling, looking for some sign of his kind, possibly even his family. He knew that he had to at least have had a mother and father at least, if not a few siblings.

But three hundred years passed in solitude and loneliness, and Dragon never found any sign of another, and was starting to give up. Shortlives had moved into almost every inch of the world, and his life as a nomad was constantly in danger from the local dragonslayers. He needed a place to stay permanently, hopefully out of their reach.

He hadn't really intended to stop in Kippernia; it had all been luck, to be completely honest.

_It was thundering and lightning out, and it had to be the biggest storm he had ever seen. Dragon might have been in awe of the lightning spiraling down from the clouds, the thunder being a booming echo, if he hadn't been stuck in the middle of it all. He was starting to loose control of his flight, and knew it would only be a matter of time before he would be forced down from the sky. _

_But, last time he had tried to land, the towers and walls of a castle met him, and from the multiple lights in the windows, it was obviously not abandoned. So, here he was, trying to get as far away from the shortlives as possible before stopping. But whether or not he wasn't just flying in circles over their castle, he had absolutely no clue. The rain made it impossible to make out what was more than a few feet in front of your face, and the strong winds buffeted him to the point where his wings were tired, aching, and plainly not going to hold him up any more than a few minutes. _

_Dragon gave a yelp of panic as a strong updraft threw him out of control, making him spiral down and slam into a stone ground with a thud. He lay there for a few moments in a daze before one blatantly obvious fact occurred to him; no ground that he knew of was completely made of stone. _

_His head shot up, and a flash of lightning illuminated the situation._

_He was lying on a rocky outcropping, a mountain ledge. He had seen a mountain when he had flown in, before all heck broke loose from the storm. Maybe that was where he was._

_That was when he noticed the cave. At first, he wasn't sure whether or not it would be safe to go in, but curiosity overcame caution, and he nosed his way through a small waterfall that had been falling from the top of the entrance. He instantly found himself in a large, open space that could have been described as an entrance hall in some grand castle. There was no doubt in Dragon's mind that this place had once been important for something. It was also oddly familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he had seen it before. _

_As he was walking in, his foot happened to step into what could have been an old fire pit. He nudged the contents, feeling old, dry wood. _

_He inhaled deeply, then exhaled a small stream of fire, which brushed over the logs and set them alight at once. Now that the cave was thrown into sharp relief, Dragon noticed that what he had once thought were cracks on the wall were actually symbols that had been carved into the stone. _

_Even though his weary mind wasn't remembering, he would later recall a few shortlives talking about these symbols, and Dragon himself had dubbed them Dragon Runes. _

_But, right at this moment, all his mind could comprehend was sleep as he settled down next to the warmth of his fire, moving into a light slumber._

Dragon pulled hazily out of the memory, glancing up at the sky. His heart was still heavy as the words that Jane had said only a few hours before echoed back.

_I hate you!_

Who knew three little words could hurt so much?

Dragon had suddenly noticed a few rabbits hopping among the trees. A few birds flew idly over his head, not noticing the look of longing on the reptile's face.

He was alone in the world. Alone, and no one and nothing cared. This wasn't entirely alien to him, but he never thought that he would have to experience it again. He had liked the cave, and decided that it would make a good home, but he had longed to find his birthplace. Well, he had, when Jane had found out about the caves, and that they were his home. Now this same person had told him to leave.

Truth be told, he didn't want to go. If he had to, he would stay in the cave, and just never go within the castle's boundaries. Losing his friend was one thing, but losing his home too, after he had just found it, was more than he could bear.

Dragon had also recalled what had happened after he had discovered the cave. The next few days after that were spent exploring, and occasionally going out for a bite to eat. His attention had continued to dwell on the runes. He'd study them carefully, looking to see if there were any hints as to what they mean. He knew that they had to mean something important, perhaps what had happened to his kind, and a hint as to who he was; his identity. One day, he had happened to notice a section that seemed to mention a child. A human child, he assumed. From his days of wandering around in Kippernia, he knew that there were two royal children, well, a child and an infant, to be more exact.

When he had read the portion that mentioned a child, he did overreact a little, going to the castle, grabbing the prince, and bringing him to his cave, thinking that he could be the key to the runes.

To his great annoyance and dismay, the prince was no help at all. The help that he needed came from a very different place than from which he expected. His friend, Jane.

_Dragon grumbled in heavy annoyance as the irritating prince let loose another barrage of insults in an attempt for him to bring the brat back to the castle. He was about half ready to just kick the whelp off the ledge outside when he heard the sudden clomping of horse's hooves coming from outside his cave._

"_Dragonslayers." He muttered angrily, turning towards the entrance to his cave, putting on a fighting stance. At the mouth of the cave appeared a knight, small in stature, and brandishing a pretty ordinary looking sword. He almost scoffed at the weapon. Shortlife metal didn't hurt him. He had dealt with their weapons before; he knew they had no power over him. _

"_Release the boy!" The knight ordered. Dragon growled furiously, fire welling up in the back of his throat._

"_Make me!" He roared back, the fire singeing the plume right off that silly helmet. He meant business, and he was going to let this upstart know that he would go easy. The knight surprisingly seemed unfazed by that, and stepped boldly forward. He swung his tail at the impudent runt, to which the knight dove out of the way. Dragon grumbled angrily as his tail missed, and came back with another burst of flame. The knight dodged again, further enraging him. He started to drive the knight into one of the caverns away from the main one, his strength and durability easily winning out over the knight's sword. The irate reptile was about to strike again when he stopped and surveyed his surroundings for a moment before blocking a strike from the blade. _

_He knew this place. It was a tricky section of the caves, full of treacherous pitfalls and weak spots, and it was easy to fall to your death if you weren't careful. Of course, he knew where all the bad parts were, but the knight obviously didn't, considering that he was backing into one right now. _

_Dragon had seen people, among other things, die. It was never pretty or glorious. Sure, he could let the knight go to the slaughter as unaware as the lamb, but could he live with the choice? Not that he cared for the knight in particular, he just knew, from intuition, that all life was precious, no matter what had it. _

_So, instead of doing nothing, he swung his tail toward the knight, knocking him lightly to safer ground. The knight paused for a moment, as though trying to figure out what had just occurred. Dragon quickly tried to swipe again with his tail, just to show that the status quo hadn't changed. They were still fighting here, and he wasn't about to let sentiment be his undoing. _

_Their battle continued on for another half-an-hour before Dragon was forced into another shocking situation, although this time, he was the one in need of mercy. The knight's blows, albeit ineffective, had somewhat driven him into a low part of the cave, accompanied by a ceiling full of stalactites. Wonderful, he could either slam his head into the cave roof, or acquire a major headache on those spike-ish rocks. Dragon grunted as he tried to avoid both the blade and the rock, and somehow managed to smack his head on a low overhang. He reeled a little, and was half-expecting the knight to try to get him while he was distracted, or at least attempt to get him in a tighter confinement. Surprisingly, the knight did neither, and drove him back into a more spacious area. He looked at the knight more a second, with the exact same intent that his combatant had when he had saved him. _

_It was about another hour of non-stop action before Dragon's maneuvering, attacks, and blocking starting to take their toll. The knight seemed to be slowing down as well; there was a difference in his movements and his swings were more broad and wilder. Dragon finally decided to cut his losses and created a smokescreen from his leftover reserves, and then retreated into the farthest reaches of his cave, where he hoped the knight wouldn't follow. He was nursing an aching skull and a confused set of beliefs. Dragon had heard that the knights were executioners for his kind, but this one had let him go when he was faltering. Then again, he had given him a chance too, hadn't he…? _

"_Urgh…" He groaned, this was giving him more than just a headache, although that could have just been from smacking his head. The sudden pitter-patter of footsteps on the stone made him sigh in exasperation, and he prepared to retreat further into the maze-like cave before the knight spoke to him._

"_Wait. I'm not going to hurt you."_

_Dragon's mind briefly doted on the fact that the knight had an odd-sounding voice before he shot back with "Not like you were hurting me anyway. I was fine."_

"_Why did you help me like that?"_

_There was a long pause before the great lizard answered, because even he hadn't a substantial idea of why he did it._

"_Rocks are treacherous."_

"_But if you wanted me out of the way you could have just let me fall. Why did you do it?"_

"_**I don't know!**__" Dragon roared back, smoke trailing from his mouth and nose for a moment in his muddled rage. He could hear the knight back up a few paces, but Dragon wasn't about to do anything other than try and keep him at arm's length. "J-Just go, and leave me…alone."_

_Dragon practically sputtered on the sentence, hating it for all it was worth. Even though loneliness had been his bane since his life began, he was not about to open up to the person that had just been trying to kill him. That didn't mean the knight was about to give up on him yet, however._

"_You have no one?"_

"…_No…No one else…"_

"_Isn't that a little…cut off?"_

"_I don't know. Is it?" Dragon retorted, still from behind his refuge of stalagmites. He wasn't about to let the knight see him in this position. Despite the tone he had used, it was taking all his effort not to start going into a fit of the sulks. 'Cut off' described his situation so well it was almost frightening how the knight had seemed to know to use it._

"_You're a knight. Why would you care? Your fellow __**murderers **__will come and kill me anyhow."_

"_Well, not exactly."_

_That remark piqued Dragon's curiosity. "What do you mean, not exactly?"_

"_Well, I'm not a knight."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Well…"Then the talking stopped, and Dragon's hungry interest forced him to look around the rocks to see why the metal-clad human had stopped talking. What met his eyes instantly made him wonder if the hit to his head had caused brain damage. The knight that he had been fighting tooth and nail had in fact been no more than a red-headed girl, probably no older than 12. The reptile's jaw dropped and he found himself pinching his arm a few times just to be sure what he was seeing was real. _

"_But….I….W-what…you…" He stammered, trying to get his very, very discombobulated thoughts into order. After a minute of fruitless progress, he gave up and finally decided on a simple 'Why'._

"_Well, I've always wanted to be a knight. But people say girls can't become knights."_

"_Then why did you come here if you can't become a knight anyway?"_

"_Because I think that I can if I try hard enough."_

_There was a thought that both confused and intrigued the fire-breather. It was like seeing a light in the darkness; a ray of hope that burned like a flame. He never wanted it to die, and would guard it for the rest of his life if need be._

"_D-Do you think I could ever have a friend?" It had been a silly fancy at first, but now it evolved into a much-desired lust. He had watched the world go on, everyone having a partner in the dance, except him, the odd one out._

_The girl thought for a moment before answering._

"_Well, probably."_

"_How though? Everyone either hates me or is afraid of me." _

"_I don't hate you."_

_Dragon looked up at the girl in surprise. _

"_W-Would you….? You mean you'd actually…?"_

_She shrugged, but she couldn't entirely ignore the fact that Dragon was now looking like a child on Christmas Morning._

"_I might."_

_Dragon hung his head, a giddy smile starting to take form on his face. _

"_You have a name?" He asked, a strangely euphoric feeling taking the place of confusion._

"_Jane. How about you?"_

"_Just Dragon. You can call me that."_

"_Dragon. Nice to meet you." Jane said, placing a hand on his front paw, like a handshake that wasn't a handshake. He almost pulled away, almost, but a growing warmth inside stopped him. This was what he had been waiting for, during all that time. A sense of belonging, friendship, and comfort filled Dragon, an unfamiliar yet pleasant experience, and he couldn't wipe the smile off his face as started to tell Jane about the caves, and as much about himself as he knew. _

_If he was going to be a friend, then he'd need to be open, right?_

_------------_

Dragon shook himself once more, melancholy thoughts outweighing good memories. It was over, all over, and right now there didn't seem to be any way to get it back. Their friendship had been good while it lasted, but now…

The reptile fought back the urge to hit something; why had he been that forward? Why hadn't he thought out his plan better? Why did…? The 'whys' built up inside, and he slammed his fist down to keep them quiet. Ignoring for the time being that he had just snapped a fallen log in two, he went back to sulking.

Suddenly, his ears perked up. His eyes widened as his mind processed the sound, recognizing it, but not believing it. But there it was, plain as day, hanging in the air like a memory all but forgotten.

The shrill sound of the dragon sword, ringing out like a homing beacon over the kingdom.

Dragon thought about it for a second, putting two and two together, before his face broke out into the widest grin he could remember having. Wasting no time, he rose and made for the air, a jubilant shout ringing out in answer to the summons.

_I'm coming, Jane!_

---

The fire-breather came up on Jane's tower, and instantaneously saw the red-head, tiredly swinging the noise-making part of the sword. Suddenly, the whole situation felt awkward. Dragon figured, most likely, that his friend had gotten her memory back, but what if this was nothing more than a cruel joke?

Only one way to find out….

"You called?" He asked, small, and hesitant, ready to fly of need be, but still wanting to stay.

"D-Dragon, I…." Jane seemed to be at a loss for words too, and Dragon's grin became a few millimeters wider as he realized his initial reaction was the right one. "Where have you been? I was summoning you for ages."

"Where have I been? Where have you been?" Dragon gently retaliated, then broke into a light chuckle at the way things had gone. He had gotten it back; it wasn't done yet. That alone made him the happiest dragon that had ever lived. Lowering his head, Jane came over and gave him a hug, like she usually did, but there was something precious about this one. It was their way of clearing the air.

Dragon stiffened as his eyes caught movement down in the garden/kitchen courtyard.

"H-hey, people are watching." He said, moving his head to get her attention. They both looked down to see Smithy, Rake, Jester, and even Pepper watching the tender scene, all smiles.

"Care to patrol?" Dragon asked, eager to restore a sense of normalcy to the otherwise unusual day. To his relief, Jane replied quickly and in his favor.

As they were taking off, Dragon swooped down with a lighthearted roar, playing the joke for all it was worth.

Once they were in steady ascent over the castle, the two broke out in conversation.

"So that was a day to forget." Jane remarked, to which Dragon took on a light humored tone.

"Which bit? The disgusting animal bit or the vile creature bit?"

"Just fly, you big lizard."

And with that, the two friends soared through the sky, their friendship as warm and bright as a newly-born star.

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So, as I said, finally done. I've always wondered where Dragon went in Dragonophobia, and I kinda ran with the idea. Please review. The voices in my head will love it.


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